Enhancing County Revenue through Natural Resources: Commission Visit to Nakuru County
The Commission visited Nakuru County from the 1st to 4th of February 2022 to examine the county’s natural resources with the goal of enhancing the county government’s revenue. During the visit, the Commission paid a courtesy call on Nakuru County Government Deputy Governor Dr. Eric Korir Kipkoech where ways in which the county can enhance revenue from its natural resources including geothermal energy and its lakes including lakes Nakuru, Naivasha and Elementaita were examined.
In addition, the Commission visited the Geothermal Development Corporation (GDC) as saw ongoing work to produce Geothermal Energy at the Menengai Caldera. This is in line with the Commission’s role to define and enhance revenue sources for national and county governments.
The Energy Act of 2019 states that any royalties received by the National Government from geothermal energy shall be apportioned to the national, county and local communities (Section 85(2)(c))
The county government’s share is to be 20% of the royalties, the local communities share will be equivalent to 5% and the remaining 75% be treated as national revenue.
This visit was part of the Commission’s strategy of enhancing the own source revenue collected by county governments in order to strengthen devolution.